Ever since I had to replace he 72 pin on my NES due to a bent pin on the original, it has never wanted to play games. It's very finicky and I always have to wrestle with it. Then, 20 minutes into a game, it'll freeze randomly.

Interesting solution. I wish someone would really take care of this problem by just producing a replacement connector that had a normal card edge slot on both ends...

Yeah suprised no one hasn't ditch the pins go for a snug fit.

Seems silly to go and make a 'better' replacement one when most of the original ones work just fine still. Most just need a little TLC is all.

I have the aftermarket connector. Sometimes I just wedge a CD jewel case above the cartridge. That works perfect 90% of the time, but I can't close the NES lid and my NES looks really bad with a CD-ROM case sticking out of the slot diagonally.

But really, a strait type cart slot tilted 10 degrees above the horizon, where you don't press the cartridge down at all, would work wonders. Only problem with making one like that is you would end up breaking the cart and/or connector by trying to force the cartridge down. A pivoting connector design instead of a rigid one like the original, would allow you to bounce the cart up and down all day while maintaining a stable connection without wearing the connector out.

Personally, I haven't had too many problems with the new "tight" replacement connectors. And I've used a lot of them, fixing Nintendo consoles for other people. I /have/ run in to one or two defective ones, however - you can see where the molding of the plastic was poor right at the edges, and the center sags a bit. I've also noticed that some of them come from the factory a bit dirty - with some kind of residue from the manufacturing. I clean them before I install them.

After a while, the tight connector breaks in/loosens up a bit, and becomes a lot easier to insert/remove games from.

The biggest key is to simply keep your games clean, and keep dirt out of the nice clean connector. Clean new games before you play them. Don't destroy the contacts on the cartridges with abrasives.

You will run into the occasional cartridge that just has trashed contacts and will never work reliably, and there's no fixing it, save for replacing the board. Either it was corroded by moisture, or someone tried to "clean" it by grinding off the plating with something abrasive. But by and large, most games can be cleaned up and made to work. Every one the carts in my collection work first time, every time.

-Ian

Ian, thanks for the info. This is the first one I've replaced, and I did notice that the plastic appears warped. The tightness of the connector doesn't make it hard to insert or remove games, they just don't make contact. Since doing this last week, I've tried over 2 dozen carts, every single one worked on the first try and never froze while playing, so I'm happy. Next time I order one, I'll be sure to return it if it's warped.

Sticking an "object" in the NES to wedge the game down is something I've seen before. I had a friend that used to stick a screwdriver in the slot to wedge the game down, lol.

Haha.. Nice.

Actually, I had this issue if you tighten the screws too "TIGHT" on the cart holder. I pretty much tighten then down then back off of them about 1 1/2 turns and they work fine. If you tighten them down all the way, sometimes the cartridges don't want to even stay down and you'll have to jam something in there to keep it down (usually SM\DH cart)

To elaborate a little.  Take a normal control deck and place your cartridge in and push it down.  It will pop up slightly.  If you tighten those screws down too much, it has trouble staying down, or won't pop up as much as it used to.

Hard to explain.. Especialy since I haven't taken one apart in probrably 3 years. :-P

If this happens, it means that you installed the cartridge loader incorrectly. There is a little tab at the front that has to hook around the front of the circuit board. If you don't hook it on, an instead allow it to rest on top of the board, the pressure from the screws and the interference of this tab will warp the cartridge mechanism and cause exactly this problem. If you hook the tab onto the board, you can tighten the screws all the way with no issues.

-Ian